Proxy War in Sudan

PROXY WAR IN SUDAN

There is a war going on in Sudan, the third largest nation by area in Africa (pop. 45 million). One military group (the Sudanese army) is fighting another military group (paramilitaries) over control of the country, which is strategically located at the confluence of the White Nile and the Blue Nile, has a coastline and port on the Red Sea across from Saudi Arabia, and contains important minerals (main export: gold) and good agricultural land. It was a military dictatorship for three decades until 2019, when the dictator, Omar Hasan al-Bashir was overthrown by popular protests.

So who are the players in the proxy war? One is the United Arab Emirates (UAE) an oil-rich Persian Gulf country that buys gold and agricultural goods from Sudan and has in the past paid Sudanese soldiers to fight its battles in Yemen. Another is Russia which wants a Red Sea port and mining concessions. Another is Israel which prizes its 2020 formal recognition by Sudan, an Arab state. Egypt, Sudan’s neighbor to the north, backs the official military.

So far 400 have been killed and 3,500 injured in the fighting in Sudan, and weapons are flowing into the country. Why should we as US citizens be concerned? First there are humanitarian reasons. Then there is the possibility of a more direct US involvement, which could be economic or military or both. 

Source: The New York Times, 4/23/23